Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks advanced for a third
day as pharmaceutical companies climbed and investors weighed
data on U.S. durable-goods orders for signs of when the Federal
Reserve will begin paring its stimulus program.

Roche Holding AG led European health-care stocks higher as
Amgen Inc. agreed to buy Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a $10.4
billion transaction. Meyer Burger Technology AG advanced as Bank
J. Safra Sarasin upgraded its recommendation for the supplier of
machinery to solar-panel makers. PubliGroupe SA slid after the
advertising company posted a loss.

The Swiss Market Index added 0.2 percent to 8,022.2 at the
close of trading in Zurich. The equity benchmark rose 0.6
percent last week, as measures of manufacturing in the euro area
and China increased more than forecast. The gauge has advanced
18 percent so far this year. The broader Swiss Performance Index
also gained 0.2 percent today.

“The market is still looking for further hints as to how
quickly and consistently the Fed wants to start tapering, so
U.S. data remains in focus,” said Martin Schlatter, a fund
manager at Swiss Rock Asset Management AG in Zurich, which
oversees about $1 billion. “Risk appetite for European stocks
still seems intact.”

The volume of shares changing hands in SMI-listed companies
was 53 percent lower than the average of the last 30 days,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Markets in London are
closed for a holiday.

U.S. Economy

In the U.S., orders for durable goods fell in July more
than forecast after three months of increases. Bookings for
goods meant to last at least three years decreased 7.3 percent,
the most since August 2012, after a 3.9 percent gain in June,
the Commerce Department said. The median forecast of economists
surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 4 percent drop last month.

European Central Bank policy makers can’t rule out cutting
the benchmark interest rate from the record low of 0.5 percent
even amid signs the euro-area economy is improving, Governing
Council Member Panicos Demetriades said in an Aug. 24 interview.
By contrast, Bank of Austria Governor Ewald Nowotny said Aug. 22
that he doesn’t see “many arguments now for a rate cut” after
the recent “stream of good news.”

Italy’s ruling coalition showed signs of fraying as members
of Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party threatened to
topple Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s government if the
billionaire media magnate is ousted from the Senate following a
tax-fraud conviction.

Italian Senate

Deputy Prime Minister and People of Liberty Secretary
Angelino Alfano said Aug. 24 after a meeting of Berlusconi
allies that voting the former premier out of the Senate would be
“unthinkable” and unconstitutional, according to a statement
on his website.

Meyer Burger advanced 0.5 percent to 9.75 francs as Safra
Sarasin raised the stock to neutral, the equivalent of hold,
from reduce, citing a change in the business environment that
could mark the beginning of a new investment cycle.

PubliGroupe slipped 1.4 percent to 88.35 francs after
posting a half-year net loss of 9.5 million francs ($10.3
million). The company said last month that it will post a half-year loss and miss a break-even target.

PubliGroupe today also said its media sales unit will adopt
a “concise strategy based on more automation, a broader media
portfolio approach and variabilisation of costs” under the new
Chief Executive Officer Arndt Groth.

“A loss has been pre-announced, but it is worse than
expected” Andy Schnyder, an analyst at Vontobel Holding AG,
wrote in a note to clients today. “We believe that a new
strategy and further job cuts will be not enough to convince
investors following the profit warning.”